Highlights​​​​

• I developed a healthy lifestyle. Over the past few months, I tracked my calorie intake, worked out at least three times a week, got 7-8 hours of sleep, practiced mindfulness through meditation and journaling, and read over 30 books. I also worked my way up to rising at 6 a.m. every day and developed the perfect 90-minute morning routine. As a result, my physical health and mental well-being have improved immensely—I lost over 10 pounds and feel more energized, optimistic, and productive!

• I explored my interests in digital health and science communication. During my nine weeks in the Scan Design Program, I explored these interests through my WebMAP project and numerous presentations. Although I began the program thinking that I wanted to study Neuroscience in graduate school, now I'm considering Clinical Psychology as another option. I am also looking into science communications programs that I may want to pursue after getting my PhD.

• I began my Communications Internship in the Honors Program. As the Communications Intern, I assist with communications, community engagement, and event production. The projects I have worked on so far include writing one-pagers about Honors, designing an informational flyer for prospective students, posting an article about Honors faculty, updating our website, and preparing for the Global Challenges event. Honors has been such an integral aspect of my college experience, so I'm honored to be on the staff this year!

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Challenges

• My research internship was quite sedentary and came with statistical obstacles. This was no surprise given that my work with WebMAP was a secondary analysis. But after doing such hands-on research with animals, it took a while to get used to sitting in a cubicle and working at a computer for 7 hours a day. Taking breaks and time blocking my schedule definitely helped with that. I also struggled with SPSS, the software I was using to restructure and analyze the app metadata, as I had never used it before and I haven't taken statistics since high school. But by actively seeking help from my mentor and lab members and watching a lot of YouTube videos, I was able to understand SPSS enough to complete my project!

• The transition back to my other lab was taxing. For my senior thesis, I decided to pursue a project where I will be examining the effects of activity-dependent stimulation and neuromodulator delivery on the stability of corticocortical EPs in intact monkeys. But after taking three months off for the Scan Design Program, I first had to get familiar with our monkeys again, who are often sweet when I give them treats but can be uncooperative at other times. A fitting example of the latter is when one of our monkeys excessively scratched the margins around her head cap and turned her cage into a bloody horror movie scene. . . My mentor also had to give me context about the implant design and experiments, which means I've absorbed a ton of information in the past few weeks. Despite this difficult transition, I know that learning from mistakes and asking nonsensical questions are all parts of the research process—I just have to embrace them more.

• I developed a love-hate relationship with emails. Weirdly enough, I've always enjoyed writing emails but this summer, I found myself dedicating too much time to that process by replying to emails as they came in and constantly refreshing my inbox to see if I received any new messages. After spending several hours re-organizing my inbox, I came up with the following system: my inbox holds any emails I need to respond or refer to, and once that's done, I move it to its appropriate folder. This has decreased the number of emails in my inbox from 6500+ to anywhere between 0 and 5. I even turned off my email notifications so that I don't get distracted by them and, instead, allocate certain times during the day to check and respond to emails.

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Goals​

• Take control of my time. My weekly schedule for fall quarter sounds very overwhelming, but I'm determined to manage my time well and continue prioritizing my health by doing my morning and evening routines, getting enough sleep, and fueling my body throughout the day.

• Immerse myself in NEUSCI 302. In our third neuro course, I expect a continuation of the challenging lecture and lab content from 301 and the stress of preparing for and taking in-person exams in 401. Regardless, I'm excited to apply the knowledge and skills I have gained and dive into neuroethology.

• Complete my Honors independent study. In HONORS 499, I will be writing a practitioner piece on an advocacy and empowerment framework that can guide mentors who work with undergraduate researchers. I'm thrilled to be incorporating my passions for mentorship and research in my first publication as an undergraduate, and it's the perfect way to complete my final Honors course!